#IPACA's 44TB of FREE CLOUD STORAGE

Exciting news from Google this week: Google storage quota is being unified across Gmail and Drive.

This means that Google are replacing the current, separate storage allowances – 25 GB for Gmail and 5 GB for Drive – with a single 30 GB quota that will cover Gmail, Drive and Google+ Photos. Should users need more than the 30 GB quota, they can purchase additional Drive storage using the existing ordering points, and the higher allowance will continue to be spread across all of these services. This update is expected to roll out to Rapid Release domains from 28 May 2013 and to Scheduled Release domains from 11 June 2013.

Here is how the change will affect users:

• Each user will have a total of 30 GB of included storage that can be used across Gmail, Drive and Google+ Photos.

• Users who needed extra storage under the old plans may no longer require it. For example, a Gmail user with just 3 GB of emails stored will be able to store up to 27 GB of files in Drive without a need to license additional storage.

• Gmail inboxes are no longer limited to 25 GB. Each user can store up to 16 TB of emails by purchasing additional storage licences.

• As before, when users approach their storage quota, additional storage should be purchased to continue using Drive and Gmail normally.

• Also as before, files created in Docs, Sheets and Slides, as well as photos in Google+ smaller than 2048px, won't count against storage quota.

This is great news for us here at IPACA as we are increasingly using Google services in all we do and it now means we have a combined total of around about 44TB of FREE online storage at our collective disposal.
I personally find this incredibly exciting and it shows the way technology is changing, developing and supporting us all.

For reference - the current on-site storage capacity at Royal Manor Campus is around 4TB - therefore by using Google services we are increasing our current capacity by well over 1000%.